Fast-track projects should be for projects of national significance, not any old developer – Letters

This inflicts damage on a major tourist attraction in Auckland.

There is nowhere comparable to the originality and character of Devonport main street and its environment, and that is appreciated by the many thousands of tourists who visit Auckland.

The lower part of Victoria Rd is where these visitors arrive and that is exactly where the wrecking ball is intended to go.

There will be pressure on existing services too, none of which have been addressed in the description of the development.

Once the damage is done it cannot be undone and Auckland will lose an important part of our history forever.

Devonport doesn’t just show how life used to be, it shows how life could be. Developers could take a lesson from that instead of calculating the fast profit they can make despite the long-term destruction of our heritage.

Our elected representatives in Government and the council need to stand up to defend us against this reckless scheme.

David Thornber, Devonport.

What exactly happened last week in politics?

Were we stampeded by the media together with the National caucus, into a mindless fear that a change of Prime Ministers was a necessity. That’s what it felt like to me.

Or was there something deeper going on that goes to the heart of what New Zealanders expect a Prime Minister to be?

New Zealanders expect the Prime Minister to be polymathic. He must be outstanding with the economy, he must be lovable and approachable, be an unselfconscious leader, relaxed, have a ready answer to every question asked, be unflappable, and never falter or make a gaffe. Really! Does such a person exist? Can such a person ever be found among humanity?

Who then in their right mind would ever wish to be Prime Minister? And yet all that being said, there are a few intrepid souls who put their heads above the parapet for this job. Few appear to survive the rigours of our unreasonable expectations.

Stephen Turner, Titirangi.

The world of politics is ruthless, and this week the National Party gave us a ring-side seat to the underhandedness that can go on.

But, in the midst of this there was a wonderful example of compassion towards another person. Mark Mitchell, in staying with Christopher Luxon until 11pm the night before the caucus meeting, to give him support, showed what compassion is – caring about the wellbeing of someone else.

Lorraine Kidd, Warkworth.

Political circus

The recent political circus in Wellington highlights a frustrating trend: our leaders’ absolute refusal to treat the public like adults.

Watching the standard political spin deployed on TVNZ’s Breakfast after Chris Penk’s failed leadership challenge was exhausting. We are expected to swallow a narrative that a high-profile MP launched a coup entirely as a “lone wolf” and that the caucus remains unified. It insults our intelligence.

What if a politician simply chose to stick to unvarnished facts? Imagine if the Prime Minister stood before the cameras and said: “There was a leadership challenge against me from Chris Penk. His challenge was unsuccessful. It went to a confidence vote, and the majority of the caucus voted to keep me as leader. I will remain leader until the election. From now on, there will be no more distractions; we will work hard for New Zealand to fix the basics and build the future.”

Such a straightforward statement would instantly disarm the media and demonstrate genuine respect for voters. We don’t demand flawless perfection, but we do demand honesty.

Jonathan Sinclair, Auckland Central.

Christopher Luxon has modelled his political career on that of Sir John Key. The comparison is meaningless.

Luxon does not have the political experience, the nous, the ability to think on his feet and the charisma of Key.

He now presides over a government that is in freefall and a caucus that doesn’t wholly support him.

Many National MPs will lose their jobs in the next election and they must be scratching their heads at all the leadership shenanigans.

His leadership has again been tested and Chris Penk is the fall guy, a move not likely to be welcomed by the caucus which needs more experienced politicians, not less.

Houdini Luxon will survive until the election but whichever way the election goes, he is a dead man walking. The coveted knighthood looks a long, long way away.

Graham Fleetwood, Bethlehem.

Susan Grimsdell (August 13) might be comfortable with the Government saddling us with more debt to fund infrastructure which is not unreasonable on the face of it. Investing in capital assets can deliver positive outcomes if the projects add value to a growing economy.

However, politics and poorly researched “feel good” projects sometimes deliver no more than a hefty interest bill to burden future generations. Our recent political history is littered with examples of expensive folly. Fast rail, cycle lanes on a harbour bridge, fancy ferries and tunnels that were never going happen, to mention just a few.

Our grandchildren will inherit the extraordinary debt run up by Grant “get the money out the door” Robertson in his reckless response to Covid and the associated lock-down overreach of his fellow senior ministers of equally questionable competence. The billions required to service this debt alone places severe limitations on current and future governments in funding the essential services we expect to be available to us.

Grimdell cites debt as a formula to address inequality but anyone involved in business will understand that debt burden can be disastrous if not managed well and invested in the right areas.

Far from having a positive impact on inequality, injudicious borrowing could have the opposite effect.

Beware of politicians bearing gifts!

George Williams, Whangamatā.

Currently there is lots of comment on the Government’s fiscal state. It means nothing. It is surprising though. Christopher Luxon worked for Unilever, which maintains a high debt to equity ratio, while Air New Zealand is more normal at about equal. A sensible interpretation of the budget documents and the Reserve Bank’s balance sheet shows that the debt if any, is negligible. The Government’s productive assets probably total about a trillion so a sensible debt level would be about $500 billion.

Maybe Nicola Willis is right to be worried about the interest she must allow. She is ignoring the interest and income she receives at the NZ Super fund and the ACC fund. But while the Government invests in roads using a special high interest rate of around 10% and claiming a wildly optimistic return of 2.5%, she’s obviously got a problem. The Government has plenty of things it can invest in giving a return of at least 20% and it should take those up straight after it has dealt with deferred maintenance.

Bill Macky, Bayswater.

This government came to power offering less taxes, less ministry staff, less regulation and less worker rights.

Now, three years later and as the effects of these policies are hitting home, this “less of everything” doesn’t feel like more of anything. Looking at other western democracies, it is clear which ones are doing it hard and which ones are simply getting on it: the Anglosphere seems to be chasing lower taxes, smaller government and fewer legislated rights, while the northwestern Europe and some Asian states are riding out inflation-based issues by shielding low- and middle-income workers.

More of the basic costs such as shelter, education and health care are provided by the state, which has large purchasing power and can absorb price spikes.

This does mean a larger tax take, but all the evidence points to higher growth and living standards than what we have in NZ.

Ra Cleave, Rotorua.

Any public patient cared for in a private hospital lightens the load on the public system. Ayesha Verrall seems to think that complex patients in the public system are more exhausting for staff than those complex patients plus others.

Chris Elias, Parnell.

I wonder if Mark Mitchell would have been so adamant in his negative opinions if Naidoo had been a National Party candidate.

Rex Fausett, Auckland Central.

It would be good to have a Prime Minister with the guts to ban fireworks.

Brian Cuthbert, Army Bay.

One Chris to rule them all, one Chris to take the fall, one Chris to deny it all, in the National caucus, where the shadows lie.

Mike Wagg, Freemans Bay.